Molly's Game,
directed by Aaron Sorkin
(R, 2 hours, 20 minutes)
Fast-moving, whip-smart Molly's Game concerns a highly competitive and disciplined Olympic-class skier (Jessica Chastain) who, after a brutal accident that ruins her career, runs a stunningly high-stakes (and completely illegal) poker game in Los Angeles for 10 years. Then the FBI agents -- 17 of them -- show up.
All the Hollywood celebrities, sports stars, top-shelf business executives, and assorted Russian mafia members that loved to play her games suddenly disappear. Her only support comes from a New York-based criminal defense lawyer named Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba).
Like many parties that start out swell, this snappy drama accelerates the fun before ultimately losing speed by going on too long. As the timelines bolt backward and forward, the best moments are when the camera focuses on Chastain, especially when she trades racy quips, wisecracks, and densely layered dialogue with the equally skilled verbal talent of Elba. It's the directorial debut of Sorkin, creator of The West Wing and scriptwriter for The Social Network, Moneyball, and Steve Jobs.
Based on a true story. With Michael Cera, Kevin Costner, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Justin Kirk, Graham Greene.
Phantom Thread (R, 2 hours, 10 minutes) Glamorous and complicated like its star, tightly wound and idealistic Phantom Thread focuses on Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock, a famous, fabulous, and thoroughly unpleasant fashion designer in 1950s post-war London who rules the world of haute couture for celebrities, socialites, royals and heiresses. He's no slouch at carrying on with the women who surround him, which is all fun and games until he encounters a willful young seductress who becomes his muse and lover. Her dominance in his life proves inspiring as well as disruptive. With Lesley Manville, Vicky Krieps; directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (1997's Boogie Nights, 1999's Magnolia, 2007's There Will Be Blood, 2012's The Master).
My Friend Dahmer (R, 1 hour, 47 minutes) Based on the 2012 graphic novel made by cartoonist John "Derf" Backderf, a teenage friend of Jeffrey Dahmer (who didn't have many), this high-school drama, set in 1978, concerns the backstory of a troubled kid who grew up to murder 17 men and boys before being captured and sent to prison. Although often intriguing, revelations of the killer's motives are not forthcoming. With Ross Lynch, Anne Heche, Vincent Kartheiser, Alex Wolff; directed by Marc Meyers.
Braven (R, 1 hour, 34 minutes) An adequate, sometimes tense, but unexceptional actioner in which a logging company owner in Canada retreats to his family's secluded log cabin for a much-needed break, where his hope for a restful escape dissolves when a cocaine dealer shows up, wanting to use his business as a front to dispense illegal drugs. With Jason Momoa, Stephen Lang, Garret Dillahunt; directed by Lin Oeding.
The Tribes of Palos Verdes (R, 1 hour, 44 minutes) A so-so family drama, well acted but hardly original, in which teenage Medina (Maika Monroe) and her family move to gorgeous beachside Palos Verdes, Calif., to get away from a troubled life. But moving on proves difficult, even for those embued with white privilege. With Jennifer Garner, Alicia Silverstone, Noah Silver, Justin Kirk, Cody Fern; directed by Emmett and Brendan Malloy.
MovieStyle on 04/13/2018